Dick Harmon: Utah native Daniel Summerhays was spectacular on PGA Tour in July

Daniel Summerhays watches his tee shot on the eighth hole during the second round of the Sanderson Farms Championship golf tournament on Friday, July 19, 2013, in Madison, Miss. Summerhays, a Utah native, has been very hot during the month of July.

Daniel Summerhays is easily the hottest professional golfer Utah has produced right now after a sizzling July in which he could have won two tourneys, shot a blistering 62, and turned a lot of heads. But he's also been victim of a very fickle game.

The former BYU player and two-time Utah State Amateur champion is an outstanding golfer.

In fact, it’s safe to say right now he is the hottest professional golfer nurtured on Utah drinking water.

This month, the Farmington native who's part of the famous Summerhays bloodlines, found himself a couple of shots from qualifying for the British Open and from winning his first and second PGA Tour events.

He entered that magic zone in golf when it all comes together, the hole looks the size of a manhole, and birdies are about all a golfer makes. He’s also found out, like Tiger Woods, that the margin between playing outstanding golf and actually winning is so spectacularly thin, it can be scary.

Just ask Phil Mickelson. A few months ago he was so depressed he could hardly get out of bed. Then in Scotland, he won back-to-back tournaments, including the British Open in one of the most memorable golfing displays the game has ever seen. During the course of a couple of weeks across the pond, he made $2.4 million and everyone’s highlight collection.

That’s golf.

A few big misses, one bad shot, and you are hoisting up a trophy. Or not.

Daniel has always known this. But the month of July is especially a reminder for the young Summerhays, who turned professional in 2007. He was the first amateur to ever win a Nationwide Tour event when he did so as a collegiate player in Columbus, Ohio.

Daniel’s got game.

His uncle, Bruce Summerhays, is a former successful Champions Tour veteran and he and his cousins have made a big impact on Utah golf.

To provide perspective on how good this year has been for Summerhays, he has four top-four finishes at PGA Tour events. That’s one better than Luke Donald, Zach Johnson and the same as U.S. Open Champion Adam Scott, Hunter Mahan, former No. 1 Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.

His season has been a roller coaster, but at least he’s been on the ride, holding on to the safety bar with a front seat in the most competitive golf experience on the planet.

When he missed the cut this past week at the Canadian Open, it marked the 10th time this season that's happened.

On the other hand, in July, Summerhays made enough shots and big plays that he should have registered his first PGA Tour victory. His July was that good.

In the John Deere Classic July 11-14, he fired a remarkable third-round 62, a card with 10 birdies and just one bogey. He had rounds of 65, 67, 62 and 72. He had a three-shot lead heading into the final round and needed a par on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff. His approach shot on 18 landed in a greenside bunker with a buried downhill lie, forcing him to use two strokes to get out of the beach on a par-4 hole.

The following week at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss., he played in the final group, made it into a playoff for another chance at the winner’s check. Summerhays had rounds of 63, 67, 69 and 69 with a week of 21 birdies and one eagle.

In those two tournaments, Summerhays had 48 birdies. He finished better than some of the most famous players in the game.

This week, he’s back in Utah, taking a break from his labors, spending some family time.

Despite missing the cut 10 times, if you think about it, Summerhays has had a remarkable run in 2013. Back at the end of May and into June he wondered how in the world he was going to keep his PGA Tour card for next season. Now he’s looking at the FedEx Cup standings and hoping he can make a run into the tour championship.

Of this dilemma, which golf presents to every player, Summerhays was quoted recently as saying that it all boils down to one important ingredient in this crazy game:

Patience.

Said young Daniel: "I think what I need to be careful of is that when it doesn't happen, I need to continue to be patient with myself because nobody masters golf; it masters us and you just have to be careful to not get down on yourself because good things can happen right around the corner. Like four weeks ago at Congressional I shot 15 over par and then the next three weeks I'm ninth, fourth and second."

And so the dimpled orb rolls.

Dick Harmon, Deseret News sports columnist, can be found on Twitter as Harmonwrites and can be contacted at dharmon@desnews.com.

Popular Comments

Patience is a virtue! Glad he's got that well stocked in his arsenal. Now
all he has to do is keep on forging onward and upward. Sooner or later things
will click nicely in his favor and before he knows it, he too will have a 2
million plus
More..

7:19 a.m. July 30, 2013

Top comment

Louisiana Cougar

Pineville, LA

Daniel Summerhays has done himself, his family, and Utah proud.

I
have been following him for over twenty years -- having written a story about
the Summerhays families for the Utah Golf Magazine that long ago!

Dick Harmon is a columnist for the Deseret News with a focus on college athletics. He previously worked as executive sports editor, sports columnist, city editor and police reporter for the Provo Daily Herald for 26 more ..